Carnival Cruise Line has temporarily added another cruise ship to the Jacksonville, Florida line-up thanks to an unexpected series of events. In late August, the Carnival Elation went to Grand Bahama Shipyard for what was slated to be a fairly major renovation.

But the month-long refurbishment wound up being delayed when the approach of Hurricane Irma brought the project to a halt so that the ship could be taken out of drydock and sailed to safer waters. As fate would have it, this unexpected return to duty put the Elation in exactly the right place at the right time to take part in a daring rescue before returning to the shipyard.

Carnival Cruise Line Ships Shuffled

Photo via Carnival Cruise Line.

Meanwhile, the Carnival Fascination is currently based year-round out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to John Heald’s Facebook page, Hurricane Maria’s impact on San Juan caused “extensive damage” to both the cruise terminal and the surrounding area, forcing Carnival to cancel the next three voyages from the port to give them time to make repairs.

Sponsored Link

Since Carnival Elation‘s dry dock was delayed and extended because of Hurricane Irma, the Carnival Fascination is going to take over her sister ship’s four- and five-night Jacksonville sailings until she is able to return to duty on October 7. If everything goes as planned, the Fascination is expected to resume sailings from San Juan on October 15, 2017.

Carnival Elation vs. Carnival Fascination

Passengers aren’t likely to notice much difference between the two vessels, which are both Fantasy-class vessels. The Fascination was introduced to the Carnival fleet in 1994, with Elation following in 1998.

In fact, if anything, passengers who originally were slated to sail on the Elation will likely be happy with the few differences, given that it means they will be able to chow down at Guy’s Burger Joint, grab drinks at the RedFrog Rum Bar or the BlueIguana Tequila Bar and enjoy the Waterworks play area, none of which are currently available on that ship, and all of which are featured on the Fascination.

Carnival Fascination will do one four-night sailing from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas on Oct 8, before she is scheduled to return to San Juan.

The good news: When sailing on most Carnival Cruise Line ships, you can still purchase the Faster To The Fun package. The bad news? On many of those ships, taking the happiness highway’s express lane is gonna cost you a little extra.

How Much Faster To The Fun Went Up

Carnival quietly boosted the price earlier this week, although news of the change spread quickly across social media. Some proclaimed that they didn’t mind paying the extra fee for the program — which offers numerous benefits, including priority embarkation — while others thought there were better ways in which they could spend the money.

So how much did the price go up? Previously, the cost — which is per cabin, not per person — ran between $49,95 to $79.95, depending on the ship and the length of the sailing. The price has now gone up to between $69.95 and $99.95.

The Breakdown

Screenshot via Carnival.

The program will cost $69.95 on 5-day sailings, except on the Sensation, where the price is $59.95.

On sailings lasting 8 days or longer, the package will now cost $99.95.

When Carnival first rolled Faster to the Fun out in 2012, it was $49.95 per stateroom across the fleet. In 2016, the line switched to the tiered pricing system which remains in effect to this day.

Sponsored Link

What does Faster to the Fun include?

A limited number of Faster To The Fun passes are sold, which is one of the reasons many believe it to be worth the price, as it allows for faster boarding thanks to separate security screening lanes and an express boarding lane upon embarkation. Those who purchase FTTF also have immediate access to their staterooms, which generally are not available immediately upon boarding. The perk also includes priority luggage handling, access to priority tendering in ports where applicable, a choice of disembarkation times and priority dinner-time assignments.

Do you generally purchase Faster To The Fun? Will the change in price impact your decision to do so in the future?

The newest ship to join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet also just became the coolest with the news that Queen Latifah has been named the Carnival Horizon’s godmother.

When The Queen Will Reign

Photo: Carnival

Beloved by millions, the actress/singer/author/businesswoman said it was “an honor” to be selected, especially given the line’s longtime association with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, “a cause that is very near and dear to my heart.”

Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line, said that “with her fun-loving spirit and positive, can-do attitude, Queen Latifah embodies our brand and knows how to Choose Fun in everything she does. Knowing that she is a long-time supporter of St. Jude and has performed on and won Lip Sync Battle made her the ideal candidate to serve as godmother on our newest ship.”

Latifah will officially assume her duties at the naming ceremony, which is set to take place during an invitation-only overnight gala being held on the Carnival Horizon in New York City on Wednesday, May 23. During the ceremony, St. Jude will be presented with a check representing funds raised at various Carnival events, both on ships and on shore. The atrium-grounding Dreamescape funnel will also feature artwork created by dozens of St. Jude patients.

Sponsored Link

The gala will also see Latifah taking part in a special event titled Lip Sync Battle: Horizon which will showcase the ship’s authentic reproduction of the hit TV series.

Over the past few years, Latifah has… well, pretty much done it all. She’s won awards from groups as diverse as the Teen Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild, not to mention a Grammy, an Oscar nomination and two NAACP Image Awards. She was also the first hip-hop artist to be honored with a star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, and now runs a production company — Flavor Unit Entertainment — which produces a wide variety of programming.

After The Gala

Following the naming ceremony and Gala on May 23, the Carnival Horizon will spend the summer sailing out of New York City before relocating in September to Miami, where she’ll sail year-round cruises to the Caribbean.

Carnival Cruise Line will be offering 17 new sailings to Cuba aboard Carnival Sensation in 2019. The five-day voyages will be the line’s first to operate round-trip from Miami and feature a day-long call in Havana as well as stops in other popular ports.

The voyages complement a series of sailings to Cuba departing from Tampa aboard Carnival Paradise taking place in 2018 and 2019. Sensation‘s Cuba schedule includes:

A Cuban taxi driver, piloting a vintage car, pulls up to the El Morro Castle while the Carnival Paradise cruise ship is docked in Havana, Cuba. (Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Line)

The 2,052-guest Carnival Sensation underwent a massive dry dock last year and a variety of venues were added, including Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, Alchemy Bar, and Cherry on Top. Already onboard was a Serenity adults-only area, 24-hour pizza, the WaterWorks aqua park, and the Seuss at Sea program.

Sponsored Link

Guests sailing on Carnival’s cruises to Cuba can choose from almost 20 shore excursions that showcase the island’s culture, beauty, and architectural landmarks. There will also be Cuba-themed parties, games, and activities onboard. To learn more, visit carnival.com.